List of family members and friends in ER
This partial list of fictional characters in the medical drama ER encompasses the notable family members and friends of the main characters of the series.
Family and friends of Susan Lewis
Chloe Lewis
| Chloe Lewis | |
|---|---|
| File:Chloe Lewis.jpg | |
| First appearance | October 20, 1994 (Season 1: "Chicago Heat") |
| Last appearance | April 25, 2002 (Season 8: "Brothers and Sisters") |
| Portrayed by | Kathleen Wilhoite |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Family | Henry Lewis (father) Cookie Lewis (mother) Susan Lewis (older sister) |
| Spouse | Michael C. Mahon (fiance) |
| Children | Susan Lewis (a.k.a. "Little Suzy"; named after her aunt) |
Chloe Lewis, portrayed by Kathleen Wilhoite, is the older sister of ER physician Susan Lewis. She first appears in Episode 006 where it is revealed that she has had consistant personal problems over a number of years with substance abuse, inappropriate relationships with men, and the inability to maintain a steady job or support herself. Broke and homeless, Chloe is invited to stay with Susan at her apartment with great reluctance. Later, Susan is not surprised to find Chloe gone and her TV and VCR stolen when she returns home.
In the following episode, "Another Perfect Day", Chloe makes another unexpected entrance into Susan's life by showing up at the ER drunk on her birthday with a bunch of her wild friends. The sisters get into an arguement which results in Chloe injuring herself when she smashes her hand and arm through a glass window. This ruins Susan's dinner plans with her boyfriend, psychiatrist Dr. Div Cvetic. Div, with some reluctance, evaluates Chloe per Susan's request.
In Episode 009, "ER Confidential", Susan, exasperated with her sister but also compassionate, trys to outreach to Chloe by inviting her and her boyfriend to Thanksgiving dinner at her apartment. Div, who is suffering from depression, skips out on the meal which leaves Susan alone with Chloe and her boyfriend. To make matters worse, Chloe has undercooked the turkey.
In Episode 011, "The Gift" Chloe announces to Susan that she is pregnant. Susan is understandably highly skeptical about Chloe's ability to look after a child and urges her to have an abortion. Chloe, however, is convinced that she can not only be a great mother but that having the child will be a strong motivation for her to get her life together. In the following episode, Chloe informs Susan that she is moving to Texas with her boyfriend. Susan, urges her to stay, but Chloe leaves after Susan gives her some money and her winter coat. Susan later admits to Mark Greene that she thinks Chloe left because she urged her to have an abortion.
Chloe once again pops back into Susan's life at the end of Episode 19 "House of Cards", looking like she has been homeless and is in the late stages of pregnancy. Susan lets her in only after Chloe promises to do what Susan tells her to this time. In the following episode, Susan is seen taking over all the responsibilities of preparing for the coming baby, including making sure Chloe and the baby are healthy. Chloe sees an OB, Dr. Janet Coburn, and we learn that the baby is going to be a girl. She tells Chloe that she needs to watch her diet and Susan tells her that she needs to quit smoking. Chloe tells Susan that she knew she was going to have a girl and that she is going to name her Susan. Susan buys lots of supplies and even contacts her mother, Cookie Lewis, about helping out financially.
In Episode 023 "Love Among the Ruins", Susan catches Chloe smoking in her apartment after she had promised she would quit. Angry that Chloe is not holding up to her end of the bargain and that she could do something that she knows can hurt the baby, Susan tells Chloe that she is going to have to move out. Chloe doesn't know where she can go and Susan reluctantly lets her stay.
In Episode 024 "Motherhood" Chloe wakes Susan up and tells her that it is time for the baby; her contractions are only 2 minutes apart. Chloe wants Susan to put on "Blackbird" while she is in labor. It is 4:30 am and Susan calls Dr. Colburn to come, but Susan ends up delivering the baby herself. A new nurse named Chuny Marquez assists her. Chloe names the baby Suzy after Susan. Cookie, Susan and Chloe's mom, arrives to see the baby. Susan had intially assumed that her mother would help Chloe raise her niece, but Cookie tells Susan that she has already raised her girls and does not want to raise another one. Susan now realizes that she is going to have to take care of Chloe and little Suzy herself.
At the beginning of Season 2 Chloe and the baby are living with Susan. Susan is intent on getting Chloe to get a steady job to help with finances. Things appear to bhe going well when Chloe starts attending school; although Chloe's school schedule now reuires that Susan look after the baby herself more. Fortunately, County General's day care allows Suzy to join. Later, Chloe leaves her daughter with Susan at the apartment because she is running late for class; throwing a kink in Susan's own work day. Susan later finds out that Chloe has been skipping classes and has dropped out. This causes further friction between the sisters. In Episode 028 "Do One, Teach One, Kill One", Chloe, evidently high again with a strange man, informs Susan that she is leaving to go out of state to work at a flea market. Susan begs her not to leave her with the baby, but Chloe drives off.
After not hearing anything from Chloe in several months, Susan recieves a money package of thirty 100 dollar bills from her. At this point Susan is in the midst of attempting to adopt Little Suzy as her own child. A few months later, in Episode 041 "The Healers", Chloe returns greatly altered. Over the next few episodes it is revealed that she has been clean of drugs for five months, has maintained a great job for several months, and has a fiance, Joe, a cop and excellent man whom she met while she was in rehab. It appears that Chloe has finally gotten her life together. Chloe informs Susan that she wants to be a mother to her daughter. Susan, still skeptical and in love with little Suzy, tells her that is too bad. Chloe sues Susan for custody of her child and wins. Chloe, Joe and Little Suzy move away. Susan eventually moves there as well in Season 3.
In the Season 8 episode 176 "Brothers and Sisters", Susan receives a frightened phone messages from her niece Suzy in which she says that her mom is really sick and she can't get her to wake up. Suzt says that they are in a hotel but doesn't say where. Susan calls the police and Officer Wilson comes to speak with her. Carter suggests that they should trace the call. Susan learns from Officer Wilson that Suzy's call came from a cell phone in New York City. He tells her that he has contacted the 55th Precinct district and that they are expecting her call. Susan calls and speaks with Lieutenant Swersky. He puts Officer Maurice "Bosco" Boscorelli on the phone with her to take a missing persons report. He tells Susan to calm down and to tell him when the last time was that she spoke to her sister. Susan catches an 11:30 flight out to New York intent on finding them. Chloe is found strung out on drugs with the help of the "Third Watch" officers. Suzy is ok but Susan is concerned for her safety if she continues to live with Chloe.
Jackie Robbins
| Jackie Robbins | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | January 5, 1995 (Season 1: "Happy New Year") |
| Last appearance | December 13, 2008 (Season 8: "I'll Be Home for Christmas") |
| Portrayed by | Khandi Alexander |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Spouse | Walt Robbins |
| Children | Joanie Robbins Steven Robbins Jessie Robbins |
| Relatives | Peter Benton (brother) Cleo Finch (sister-in-law) Reese Benton (nephew) Mae Benton (mother) |
Jackie Robbins, portrayed by Khandi Alexander, is the sister of Peter Benton. Her husband Walt Robbins (portrayed by Ving Rhames) is an auto mechanic. She initially appears in Episode 12 "Happy New Year" where she suggests to Peter that it is time for them to put their mother, Mae Benton, in a nursing home. Mae has had a stroke and Jackie, who takes care of her mother, feels overwhelmed by Mae's declining physical and mental health on top of her responsibilities in looking after her children and husband. Peter opposes this suggestion vehemently which causes a fight between the two. Eventually Jackie reluctantly agrees to Peter's plan of hiring Jeanie Boulet to help look after their mother so that she can remain in Jackie's home. Peter also promises to spend more time looking after her. This solution works fine until one night when Peter is watching his mother in Jackie's home she falls down the stairs and breaks her hip. This ultimately leads to Mae's placement in a home where she dies soon after.
In season 2, Peter reunites with his old girlfriend, Carla Reese, at a barbecue at Jackie's house. Their ill-fated relationship leads to the birth of Reese Benton. Jackie is often seen over the next several seasons as helping her brother look after Reese and in supporting him in his various conflicts with Carla. In the season 7 episode "Benton Backwards", Jackie's son Jesse gets in a fight and is brought in by her to the ER. He is having problems at schol and at home which causes Jackie to ask Peter to talk to him. Jessie, however, continues to be involved with the wrong crowd and ultimately gets shot and brought into the ER where he dies. Peter hears Malucci refer to his late nephew as a "banger" and Benton beats him.
Maggie Wyczenski
| Maggie Wyczenski | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | November 16, 2000 (Episode: The Visit) |
| Last appearance | September 28, 2006 (Episode: Graduation Day) |
| Portrayed by | Sally Field |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | female |
| Spouse | Eddie Wyczenski (ex-husband) |
| Children | Abby Lockhart, Eric Wyczenski |
| Relatives | Luka Kovac (son-in-law) Josip "Joe" Kovac (grandson) |
Maggie Wyczenski is the mother of Dr Abby Lockhart. Maggie suffers from bipolar disorder, and her uncontrolled mental illness had a negative impact on her ability to parent Abby and her younger brother, Eric, who is also bipolar. Abby did much of the parenting of her brother and has also taken care of Maggie herself. Abby had an abortion while married to Richard because she feared that the baby would inherit Maggie's disease. When Abby became pregnant after an encounter with Dr Luka Kovac, she considered abortion again.
Maggie made her first appearance during the sixth episode of season 7. She is first found by Kerry Weaver in the doctors lounge who told her that patients are not allowed in the lounge. Maggie replied that she was not a patient, but that a member of the staff is her daughter. After realizing that her mother had unexpectedly arrived to the County General Hospital, Abby first denied that Maggie was her mother, thus Kerry told Frank to call psych. When Kerry told Maggie that Abby said she was not her mother, Maggie became really upset and began shrieking for Abby all around the ER until Abby herself appeared and calmed Maggie down. During a long time, Maggie had not being taking her medication and Kim Legaspi told her to take some new meds and Maggie finally agrees. Later, Abby gave Maggie some money so that she could go home but Maggie told her she had no place to go as Eric did not want to see her again. Maggie applied for a job interview in a store but did not last long and the owner wanted Maggie to be arrested after causing an accident. Back in the ER, Maggie argues again with Abby and is threatened with an injection of Haldol. After being examined by Dr Legaspi again, Maggie ran away.
Several months later, Richard told Abby that Maggie is holed up in a motel room in Oklahoma and gave Abby a phone number to call her. Abby and Carter looked for Maggie and found her in a bad state. Abby gave her a bath and some food, and returned with her to Chicago. During the way back to Chicago, Maggie takes an entire box of sleeping pills and falls unconscious, she is rushed to the ER barely breathing and is treated by Luka, Carter and Abby. She seizes on the trauma table and a devastated Abby is forced to watch. For attempting to kill herself with the pills, which she stole from a gas station, Maggie was due in court for a competency hearing, but in the end made her way out of being committed. Towards the end of the season, Maggie had had some sessions with Dr Lesgaspi and appeared to be better off. Finally, Maggie decided to return to her original home in Minnesota.
In recent years Maggie's illness has been controlled with medication. Maggie and Abby found in each other some support after Eric's crisis. She was also responsible for saving the life of Abby and Luka's premature baby Joe, as she took control of the situation while Luka and Abby were struggling with their own problems after the rampage. Maggie, knitting beside the baby's isolette, demanded that the neonatal nurse summon a doctor when monitors began to beep. Abby thought that Joe would not make it, but it was Maggie's support that made her change her mind. When it came time for Joe to leave the hospital with his parents, Abby was reluctant to see her mother go home.
Sally Field has portrayed Maggie in several guest appearances. In 2000, Field was nominated for Outstanding Actress in the Screen Actors Guild awards.